Baffled treatball

ABSTRACT

A treatball for storing and dispensing pet treats has an elastic body which is restorably compressible in response to an external force applied to the body. The body is provided with a peripheral wall having spaced two or more openings one of which is configured to receive treats and the other to dispense the treats upon applying the external force to the body. The interior of the body is formed by removing the core thereof so that a plurality of baffles extend from the inner surface of the peripheral wall and have respective free portions define an elongated nonlinear path along which the treats advance through the body to the dispensing opening.

CROSS-REFRENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a non-provisional counterpart to and claims priorityto U.S. Ser. No. 60/681,004 filed on May 13, 2005 and incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to pet amusement and exercise equipmentand, more particularly, to a treat dispensing toy capable of attractingand generating interaction with a pet animal. The invention furthermorerelates to a toy having a unitary, one-piece construction.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

For dogs and other animal companions, toys are not a luxury, but anecessity. Toys help fight boredom in pets left alone, and toys can evenhelp prevent some problem behaviors from developing. Many factorscontribute to the “right” toy, and a number of them depend upon thepet's size, activity level, and preferences.

Many pet toys should be interactive. For example, interactive play isvery important for pet dogs because dogs need active “people time”—andsuch play also enhances the bond between the pet owner and pet. Byfocusing on a specific task—such as repeatedly returning a ball orplaying “hide-and-seek” with treats or toys—a pet can expel pent-upmental and physical energy in a limited amount of time and space. Thisgreatly reduces stress due to confinement, isolation, and boredom. Foryoung, high-energy, and untrained dogs, interactive play also offers anopportunity for socialization and helps the dogs to learn aboutappropriate and inappropriate behavior, such as jumping up or beingmouthy.

The goal of animal toy designers is to make the toy attractive to theanimal and to the animal caretaker. A toy is attractive to an animalwhen it presents a challenge that is neither too easy nor too difficultto solve and rewards the animal. The toy is attractive to the caretakerwhen the toy has good playability, durability, and quality ofconstruction and occupies the interests of the animal.

The term “treatball” generally refers to a class of animal toys,typically dog toys, wherein one or more edible treats may be placed intoa ball and the treat and/or treats are dispensed as the animal interactswith the toy. In interacting with the toy, the animal follows itsnatural instinct to obtain food and performs problem solving tasks thatengage the animal's mind. Typically, treat dispensing toys are in theform of solid-covered, non-spheroid toys, such as bone-shaped toys orballs with a series of regular or irregular openings through which isdispensed the treat, which is usually shaped to be insertable along onlyone axis. Turning to FIG. 6, an example of a convention spheroid-shapedtreatball 600 is depicted. The prior art treatball 600 consists of anouter shell 602 with a number of openings 604 for inserting/accessingtreats.

Prior art, ball-shaped treatballs 600 are generally designed andintended to only be rolled by the pet owner or chewed by the pet, butnot thrown by the pet owner. Typically the materials used may not bounceand roil well on soft or irregular surfaces such as a grass field. Inaddition, the insertion/access openings 604 of conventional designs mayallow treats to prematurely fall out without animal interaction,particularly if the conventional treatballs are thrown or bounced. Thus,such conventional treatballs 600 do not have bounce or interactivitycharacteristics that excite and engage an animal. Although non-spheroidtoys that dispense treats may retain treats better than conventionalball-shaped treatballs 600 and thus may be more interactive, such toysmay not have desirable bounce and roll characteristics. In either case,prior art treat dispensing toys do not provide impact protection toinserted treats and when bounced, treats may crumble and prematurelyfall out of the toy.

Accordingly, a need exists for a toy that offers at once the desirablebounce and roll characteristics of a spheroid-shaped treatball and alsothe engaging aspect of a treat dispensing toy that requires an animal tointeract with the treatball in order to cause treats to be dispensed atthe appropriate time in response to the animal's efforts.

A further need exists for the toy that permits a person to findenjoyment interacting with a pet.

Still a further need exists for the toy that combines rolling, bouncingand interactivity characteristics that can amuse and attract the pet.

Yet, a further need exists to make the manufacture of the toy as simpleas possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, an improved treatball is disclosedthat has the desirable bounce and roll characteristics of aspheroid-shaped treatball and also the engaging aspect of a treatdispensing toy that requires an animal to interact with the treatball inorder to cause treats to be timely dispensed in response to the animal'sefforts. Specifically, the toy includes a spherical solid outer cover orexterior wall that has a covered opening for treat insertion and adiametrically disposed opening for treat dispensing. Within theinventive treatball, a series of baffles define a path through the toyfrom the covered opening to the treat dispensing opening. The path mayinclude a series of interconnected chambers through which treatsinserted into the covered opening must be made to traverse in order toreach the dispensing opening.

In use, treats are preferably inserted at the covered end by the petowner and the toy is thrown or kicked to the pet. As the toy bounces androlls, the preferably elastic structure of the toy protects the treats(e.g., hard baked and relatively brittle dog biscuits) from crushingimpacts. Once the animal begins interacting with the treatball, e.g.,via shaking, tossing, compressing, pawing, chasing, scratching,bouncing, etc., the treats are advanced past the baffles, through thetoy, and eventually dispensed through the unobstructed opening.

In some embodiments, the treatball of the present invention may be partof a system or kit wherein the treat size and ball size are associatedwith each other. For example, smaller treats may be used with smallerballs and larger treats may be used with larger balls. Such a systemmay, for example, allow small dogs, who may be only capable of consumingsmall treats, to enjoy playtime with a small-sized treatball and preventsuch small treats from prematurely dispensing from an inappropriatelylarge treatball.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the treatball is made usingan internal mold that upon formation of the ball is removed through anopening of the treatball.

The above and other features of the invention will become more readilyapparent from the following detailed description accompanied by thefollowing drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the inventivetoy according to the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the presenttoy similar to the one shown in FIG. 1A, but having a smaller size;

FIG. 2 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the inventive toy ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the inventive toy of FIG. 1illustrating a single baffle;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a cross-section of the inventivetoy shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a first diagrammatic planar view of the inventive toy of FIG.1;

FIG. 5 is a second diagrammatic planar view of the inventive toy of FIG.1; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a prior art treatball.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of theinvention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawingsand the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. Thedrawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale. Forpurposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such astop, bottom, left, right, up, down, over, above, below, beneath, rear,and front may be used with respect to the drawings. These and similardirectional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of theinvention in any manner. The words “connect,” “couple,” and similarterms with their inflectional morphemes do not necessarily denote directand immediate connections, but also include connections through mediateelements or devices. Furthermore, such terms as “toy,” “treat toy,” and“treatball” are used interchangeably.

Turning now specifically to FIGS. 1A and 1B, two identically shaped, butdifferently dimensioned treatballs 100 may be packaged individually tomeet the individual needs of dogs classified in accordance with theirrespective size, which typically includes large, medium and small sizedogs. In an alternative embodiment, however, more than one toy 100 canbe packaged together so as to constitute a kit. One of the reasons forhaving the kit is that a pet may like one of the packaged toys 100 and,for some reason, ignore the other one regardless of the size of toys100. Treatball 100 is preferably a single unit, which is made from amoldable material selected from a substantially rigid material, such asplastic or foam, or a flexible material, such as rubber or plastic. Insome embodiments, the treatball 100 may be molded from a single materialin a single pour step.

Focusing on FIG. 1A, a perspective view of an example embodiment of atreatball 100 is depicted. The treatball 100 may include an exteriorwall 102 that may be formed in the shape of a spheroid or round ball.The exterior wall 102 may include one or more ports or openings 104 forinserting or dispensing a treat. The exterior wall 102 may also includetexturing 106 on the outer surface of the treatball 100. The opening 104may include a lip 108 that defines and/or reinforces the edge of theopening 104.

Turning to FIG. 1B, a different sized embodiment of a treatball 100 isdepicted. The same reference numerals are used to identify thecorresponding features.

Referring to both FIGS. 1A and 1B, the exterior wall 102 of a treatball100 may be manufactured of a compressible elastic material such asrubber or plastic. Likewise, the structure (e.g., thickness, density,etc.) of exterior wall 102 may be such that the treatball 100 iscompressible and stretchable. The treatball 100 may be manufactured sothat it can be distorted by compressive and/or stretching forces andyet, when the distorting forces are removed, return to its originalmanufactured shape and size. Application of such distorting forces mayalter the shape of (e.g., elongate) opening 104 so as to cause a treatwithin the treatball 100 to be dispensed. The manufacture of exteriorwall 102 from a compressible material may further provide improvedbounce characteristics when treatball 100 is thrown onto either hard orsoft surfaces. Further, the compressible structure and material ofexterior wall 102 may absorb impacts resulting from bouncing or othershocks so that treats within the treatball 100 are protected and notbroken by the impacts. In some embodiments of the present invention,exterior wall 102 may be constructed to be durable enough to withstandchewing by an animal. Additionally, a material that emits a squeakingsound when chewed by an animal may be selected for constructing exteriorwall 102.

In some embodiments, exterior wall 102 may be manufactured using any ofa variety of different colored material, as well as using a clear ormulti-color material. Additionally, exterior wall 102 may bemanufactured from a material that may include a scent attractive toanimals. Some embodiments of treatball 100 may include lighting and/orelectronic sound generators within the exterior wall 102.

The one or more ports or openings 104 may be in any shape including acircular opening. The openings 104 may be of any practicable size toallow insertion or dispensing of different sized or shaped treats.Additionally, the openings 104 may be sized to view treats insidetreatball 100. As indicated above, the treatball 100 may include portsor openings 104 which become temporarily distorted when compressiveforce is applied. Temporary distortion of openings 104 may allow fortreats to be retrieved with either greater ease or greater difficulty.In other embodiments, the treatball 100 may include openings 104, whichdo not become distorted (e.g., remain rigid or at least more rigid thanexterior wall 102 when compressive force is applied.

Texturing 106 of the outer surface of exterior wall 102 may be embodiedto allow for better gripping of treatball 100, either by pet owners orpets. Some embodiments of treatball 100 may have texturing 106characteristics including, for example, bumpy, spiky, orange peel,and/or smooth surfaces. The texturing 106 may be such that the visualappearance of the overall treatball 100 is enhanced by intriguing and/orattractive patterns, designs, symbols, and/or the like. Texturing 106may include words or trademarks in relief. Texturing 106 and/or coloringof the exterior wall 102 may: be used to make the treatball 106 appearto be a different object such as, for example, a soccer ball, abasketball, a relief globe/map, a stone, a pumpkin, etc. Texturing 106may be used to imbalance the treatball 100 by irregularly distributingweight about the surface of the exterior wall 102 to cause the treatball100 to roll and bounce erratically and/or unpredictably. Texturing 106may also be used to reinforce or weaken portions of the structure ofexterior wall 102 to cause a desired or predefined distortion pattern(e.g., collapse along a predefined meridian) when compressive force isapplied to the exterior wall 102. Such a desired or predefineddistortion pattern may cause treats within the treatball 100 to advancethrough the toy 1100.

Lip 108 may be of any thickness, height or width surrounding openings104. Lip 108 may extend out from treatball 100 opening 104 at anylength. In some embodiments, lip 108 may provide reinforcement ofopenings 104 to prevent damage from wear due to extended usage oftreatball 100.

Turning to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional perspective view of an exampleembodiment of a, treatball 100 is depicted. An embodiment of treatball100 may include one or more covered ports or openings 202. Similar toopening 104, covered opening 202 may include a lip 204 to reinforce theedge of opening 202. Treatball 100 may include one or more baffles 206A,206B, 206C extending from the inner surface 208 of the exterior wall102.

Covered opening 202 may be of any size or shape including a circle andmay include any practicable covering or flap. Covered opening 202 mayinclude characteristics or features such that treats may not be easilyremoved or dispensed via covered opening 202 allowing for a defined,one-way entry point. Covered opening 202 may function to ensure thattreats do not fall out prematurely or without interaction between thetreatball 100 and the pet. Covered opening 202 may allow treats to beinserted into treatball 100 at a point farthest away from opening 104.Maximizing the distance that the treat must travel within the treatball100 may provide an enhanced challenge to an animal attempting toretrieve a treat. Covered opening 202 may be of any practicable size toallow insertion while preventing dispensing of different sized or shapedtreats. As with the one or more openings 104, in some embodiments, thetreatball 100 may include one or more covered openings 202 that do notbecome distorted (e.g., remain rigid or at least more rigid thanexterior wall 102) when compressive force is applied to the treatball100. In some embodiments, covered opening 202 may be diametricallydisposed relative to dispensing opening 104 as pictured in FIG. 2. Inother embodiments, the openings 104, 204 may be adjacent to each otherbut still at opposite ends of a predefined path through treatball 100.In yet other embodiments, the ports or openings 104, 204 may be disposedat right angles or at any other relative positions that can bepracticably used to provide an entrance and exit for treats.

One or more baffles 206A, 206B, 206C may be attached to, or extend from,the interior surface 208 of the exterior wall 102 of treatball 100. Thebaffles 206 a, 206 b, 206 c may be embodied so as to prevent treats frompassing directly through treatball 100 on a direct or straight path.Thus, baffles 206A, 206B, 206C may provide an enhanced challenge to ananimal when attempting to retrieve treats from treatball 100. In theexample embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the baffles 206A, 206B, 206C areimplemented as semi-circular partitions disposed perpendicular to, andabove (206A, 206C) and below (206B), a center line (not shown) runningdirectly from the covered opening 202 to the dispensing opening 104. Thebaffles 206A, 206B, 206C may be of any size, shape, thickness, rigidity,etc. that is practicable to prevent treats from passing straight throughthe treatball 100 while still allowing treats to pass through if ananimal playing with the toy 100 executes or performs an effective orproper sequence of interactions with the toy 100.

In alternative embodiments, additional or alternative baffles may beincluded in addition to or in alternative to baffles 206A, 206B, 206C.In some embodiments, treatball 100 may include a spiral tunnel or otherlimited paths through treatball 100. Baffles 206A, 206B, 206C may beattached to the interior surface 208 of exterior wall 102 parallel toeach other or askew. In some alternative embodiments, the quantity,placement and length of baffles may vary.

In further alternative embodiments shown in FIG. 2A, instead of multiplecovered receiving ports or openings 202 and dispensing ports 104,treatball 100 may have a single port 105. The baffles, then, are soconfigured that at least one of them 205 adjoins port 105 along interiorsurface 107 of the treatball so that one of opposite surfaces of thebaffle's wall 209, 211 defines the upstream of a path “P” of treatsthrough the interior of treatball and the other the downstream of thepath. Consequently, port 205 is divided into two adjacent sectors: areceiving sector 213 closable by one or more flaps 215 in the mannerdiscussed above and a dispensing sector 217. In this embodiment, like inthe above discussed embodiments, treats are inserted through theclosable port sector and, then are displaced along the treat path whichis defined by a single or a plurality of baffles configured so that thetreats can be retrieved through the dispensing sector.

Additional embodiments of treatball 100 may include a noise maker (notpictured) or other electronic sound generator for attracting theanimal's attention and providing stimulation/feedback to the animal.

Turning to FIG. 3, a side elevational view of a cross-section of anexample embodiment of a treatball 100 is depicted. This view moreclearly illustrates the relative size, shape and locations of baffles206A, 206B, 206C in relation to the overall diameter of the exteriorwall 102 and the openings 104, 202 of the example embodiment. Theillustrated proportions may be suitable for particular shaped treats.Alternative proportions may be suitable for different shaped treats. Forexample, the depicted proportions may allow passage of longerrectangular shaped treats while an embodiment with larger and morenumerous baffles may only allow passage of small round treats.

The baffles 206A, 206B, 206C may be thought of as defining a series ofadjacent chambers 302A, 302B, 302C within the treatball 100. An animalplaying with the toy 100 may cause the treats to traverse these chambers302A, 302B, 302C, leading from the covered opening 202 to the dispensingopening 104, by manipulating and interacting with the treatball 100. Insome embodiments, the chambers 302A, 302B, 302C may be shaped and sizedto control the level of difficulty associated with moving treats throughthe treatball 100. In some embodiments, a pet owner may be able to add,remove, and/or alter baffles and or chambers within the treatball 100 toadjust the level of challenge to be appropriate for the owner'sparticular pet. In other embodiments, the pet owner may select differentsized and shaped treats to adjust the level of challenge for a givenpet.

Turning to FIG. 4, a diagrammatic planar view showing details of anexample embodiment of the covered opening 202 of the treatball 100 isprovided. The covering of the opening 202 may be formed by flaps 402A,402B, 402C, 402D that together allow treats to be pushed into thetreatball 100 but obstruct the treats from exiting via the coveredopening 202. In some embodiments, the flaps 402A, 402B, 402C, 402D maybe formed by cutting a membrane (initially spanning the opening 202)along cut lines 404A and 404B.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a diagrammatic planar view depicting thedispensing opening 104 of the treatball 100 is provided. Looking intothe unobstructed opening 104, baffles 206A and 206B may be seen. Thesebaffles 206A, 206B may prevent an animal that is interacting with thetoy 100, from initially seeing any inserted treats. However, the animalis likely to be able to smell the treats and hear the treats hitting theinterior surface 208 (FIG. 2) and the baffles 206A, 206B, 206C as thetreatball 100 is moved. This awareness of the treats is likely tostimulate the animal to further interact with the treatball 100. Withfurther interaction, the animal may be able to view treats as they moveinto the chamber 302A closest to the opening 104. This view may furtherexcite the animal and provide additional motivation to work for thetreats.

Returning to FIG. 1, it is particularly desirable to produce toy 100 inas simple a manner as possible. Thus, it is preferred, but not limited,that toy 100 has a unitary, one-piece construction. Since the toy musthave a shape and be made of material that is suited for bouncing androlling, the toy may be made using an internal mold as further disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,590, which is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety, and using an elastomeric material, which is preferablynatural rubber, synthetic natural rubber, or a blend of natural rubberor synthetic natural rubber and one of a plurality of blending polymersincluding butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber andethylene-propylene-diene-monomer rubber.

Thus, an inside mold advantageously forms at least one baffle, andpreferably baffles 206A-C, and is disposed between at least one outsidemold. The inside mold further advantageously forms at least one cavitydefined by inner surface 208 and more preferably forms chambers 302A-Cdefined by inner surface 208 and baffles 206A-C. Therein, the bafflesare sized so as to allow the mold to be removed. Additionally, the moldforms a corresponding internal lip of opening 104 and the interiorportion of opening 202. After the inner mold forms toy 100 incooperation with at least one outer mold, the inner mold is removed fromtoy 100. This may be accomplished preferably by removing the inner moldthrough opening 104, although opening 202 may also be used after beingmade more suitable for the task. Therein, it is preferred that the innermold is removed while the elastomeric material, which has suitable hottear resistance, is of a suitable temperature.

This document describes the inventive toy for illustration purposesonly. Neither the specific embodiments of the invention as a whole, northose of its features limit the general principles underlying theinvention. In particular, the invention is not limited to any specificconfiguration of openings 104, 202, shapes of treatball 100 or treats,texturing 106, and baffles 206A, 206B, 206C. The specific featuresdescribed herein may be used in some embodiments, but not in others,without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth. Many additional modifications are intended in the foregoingdisclosure, and it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in theart that in some instances some features of the invention will beemployed in the absence of a corresponding use of other features. Theillustrative examples therefore do not define the metes and bounds ofthe invention and the legal protection afforded the invention as definedby the appended claims.

1. A treatball for storing and dispensing treats for pets, comprising anelastic body restorably compressible in response to an external forceapplied to the body and having at least one opening for selectivelyreceiving and dispensing the treats, the body having a core thereofremoved through the one opening so as to provide an interior of bodywith a unitary guide unit configured to define an elongated nonlinearpath through the body along which the treats are advanced before beingretrieved from the interior of the body.
 2. The treatball of claim 1,wherein the body has another opening spaced from the one opening, one ofthe openings being a treat dispensing opening configured smaller than anindividual treat in a normal state of the body and traversable by thetreat in response to applying the external force, the other openingbeing a treat receiving opening, the guide unit being formed with one ormore spaced baffles extending inwards from an inner surface of the bodyand defining the nonlinear path between the treat receiving and treatdispensing openings.
 3. The treatball of claim 2, wherein the treatreceiving openings is configured to prevent the treats from beingvoluntarily discharged from an interior of the body, the treat receivingopening being configured to be distorted or not distorted upon applyingthe external force.
 4. The treatball of claim 2, further comprising oneor more flaps covering the treat receiving opening so that the flapsmove to one position in which the treat receiving opening is open inresponse to applying the external force and, upon seizing the externalforce, to another position in which the receiving opening is closed toprevent a voluntary discharge of the treats from the interior of thebody.
 5. The treatball of claim 2, wherein the treat dispensing openingis configured to be distorted in response to the applied external forceso as to allow the treats to be sequentially retrieved from theinterior.
 6. The treatball of claim 2, wherein the treat dispensingopening is configured to remain undistorted in response to the externalforce applied to the body but shaped and dimensioned to prevent avoluntary discharge of the treats regardless of whether the externalforce is applied or not.
 7. The treatball of claim 2, further comprisinga plurality of lips extending outwards from an exterior surface of thebody and surrounding the respective treat dispensing and receivingopenings to prevent the surrounded openings from wear.
 8. The treatballof claim 2, wherein the treat dispensing and receiving openings areuniformly or nonuniformly shaped and dimensioned.
 9. The treatball ofclaim 1, wherein the body has an opening configured with a receivingclosable sector and a dispensing sector each smaller than eachindividual treat in a normal, undistorted state of the body buttraversable by the individual treat in response to applying the externalforce, the receiving and dispensing sectors defining respective upstreamand downstream portions of the nonlinear path.
 10. The treatball ofclaim 2, wherein the body has a shape selected from a spheroid shape ora round shape.
 11. The treatball of claim 10, wherein, the body andguide unit are made from moldable material selected from the groupconsisting of butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrilerubber, ethylene-propylene-diene, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, anda blend of natural and synthetic rubber and a combination of theseallowing the body to roll and bounce.
 12. The treatball of claim 2,wherein at least some of the spaced baffles extend in oppositedirections and are configured with respective free end portionsterminating in a common plane or overlapping one another to define thenonlinear path, the treat receiving and dispensing openings being spaceddiametrically opposite to one another or spaced from one another at anangle differing from a 180° angle.
 13. The treatball of claim 12,wherein the baffles are uniformly shaped and dimensioned or nonuniformlyshaped and dimensioned and spaced so as to define a plurality ofadjacent chambers therebetween, the chambers each being configured totemporarily retain the treats advancing along the nonlinear path, thenonlinear path being a spiral path.
 14. The treatball of claim 13,wherein the baffles each have a semicircular shape
 15. The treatball ofclaim 1, wherein the body has an exterior surface textured to allow forbetter gripping of the body, the textured surface being configured toimbalance the body by irregularly distributing weight about the exteriorsurface, to cause the body to roll and bounce erratically and/orunpredictably, and to cause a desired distortion pattern when theexternal force is applied to the body so as to advance the treats withinthe body along the nonlinear path.
 16. The treatball of claim 15,wherein the textured exterior surface has a plurality of bumpy, spiky,and smooth regions, at least one of the regions including words ortrademarks in relief.
 17. A method of making a treatball, comprising:introducing an elastomeric material onto an internal mold; molding theelastomeric material into an elastic body having a peripheral wall andat least one opening in the peripheral wall, the opening beingconfigured to selectively receive and dispense treats passing throughthe body; extracting the internal mold from the body, thereby removing acore of the body through the opening so as to have an inner surface ofthe peripheral wall formed unitarily with one or more spaced bafflesextending inwards from the inner surface and configured to define anelongated nonlinear path along which the treats are advanced through thebody before being dispensed therefrom.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein the molding of the elastomeric material includes configuring theone opening to be smaller than an individual treat to prevent voluntarydisplacement of the treats from body.
 19. The method of claim 17,wherein the molding of the elastomeric material includes forming asecond opening spaced diametrically opposite from or at an anglediffering from a 180 angle from the one opening, the second openingbeing configured to receive the treats if the one opening dispenses thetreats, and to dispense the treats if the one opening receives thetreats.
 20. A kit comprising a plurality of identically shaped, butdifferently dimensioned treatballs packaged individually to meet theindividual needs of pets classified in accordance with respective sizeof thereof, the treatballs each being configured with: an elastic bodyrestorably compressible in response to an external force applied to thebody; a receiving opening formed in a peripheral wall of the body andconfigured to so as to allow treats to be inserted inside the body and adispensing opening spaced from the receiving opening and configured sothat the treats are retrievable from the body in response to applyingthe external force; and a plurality of spaced baffles provided insidethe body upon removing a core of the body through one of the receivingand dispensing openings, the baffles inwardly extending from an innersurface of the peripheral wall and being configured to define anelongated nonlinear path for the treats through the body between thereceiving and dispensing openings.